The European Commission decided today to send
reasoned opinions – the last step before lodging a case to the Court of
Justice – to Estonia, France and Latvia for failure to respect EU
Directive on port State control of shipping.

Estonia, France and Latvia have not yet implemented properly the 1995
Directive[1], amended following
the Erika accident, which aims to reduce substandard shipping in
Community waters. The Directive promotes compliance with international and
European legislation on maritime safety, establishes common criteria for control
of ships by the port State and harmonizes procedures on inspection and
detention.

The Commission action was launched on the basis of the findings by European
Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) teams during inspection visits to Member States.
These visits are part of a monitoring program designed to assess how the
Directive is implemented in practice in each Member State.

Most common irregularities concern failure by Member States to apply
sanctions for breaching the national implementing measures and failure to charge
full re-inspection costs to ship-owners and operators or their
representatives.

[1] Council Directive
95/21/EC of 19 June 1995 on port State control of shipping (OJ L 157, 7.7.1995,
p. 1) as last amended by Directive 2002/84/EC.